WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — Last week, the Defense Department began its review of potential US-based military prisons for a number of the remaining Guantanamo detainees. It has already started an interagency review of facilities in South Carolina and Kansas.
"The Department hopes to see both parties work together to eliminate unwarranted and burdensome restrictions on detainee transfers and enable the responsible closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay."
A number of US lawmakers have strongly opposed the Obama administration’s efforts to shut down the detention center and bring to the United States those detainees deemed too dangerous to transfer abroad.
A group of Republican senators have also introduced legislation to put a two-year moratorium on the Obama administration's authority to transfer detainees deemed medium or high risk to the United States.
The transfers and future US-based detentions will be conducted in a way "that will not risk the wellbeing of nearby residents," Ross explained.
He added that suspected and convicted terrorists have been held in the United States for years "without a single security incident."
Since taking office in 2009, President Barack Obama has released or transferred more than half of the prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
At present, 116 detainees remain at the detention facility, according to the White House.
